Dell has begun developing a pocket-sized, ARM-based device powered by the Android operating system, The Wall Street Journal reported Monday.

The Journal article carefully avoided calling the device a smartphone, and positioned it in the context of the Apple iPod touch, a handheld music player and computing device that lacks the native ability to place and receive calls.

What the device is, what it does, what it will be priced: all questions that the Journal's source was unable to answer. The plan could also be scrapped entirely, the Journal reported, essentially offering the story with a somewhat large grain of salt.

What's interesting, however, is that the Journal reports that Dell began work on the device last year. That's certainly before AT&T Mobility's chief executive reported in Feburary that Dell was working on a smartphone, which may or not be the same thing.

Rumors about Dell doing something with Android or smartphones have been swirling for over a year now, fed in part by similar unsourced stories in the Journal.

A story in the British magazine MarketingWeek had a Dell Android smartphone appearing in February 2008 - yes, 2008. We debunked that one right here on Gearlog.

The Wall Street Journal then claimed in January 2009 that Dell would "move into cellphones as early as next month," which clearly didn't happen. The next step in the Dell vaporware rumor chain came this April, when a market analyst said carriers had decided to pass on Dell's invisible, chimerical smartphone.

Finally, this May, Dell showed off a Mini 10 netbook running Android--just to stoke the flames.